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Most people have no clue what to expect regarding magick. Are there special effects? How does magick work? What do spirits look like? How realistic is “a story/effect/spell” in [INSERT POPULAR MEDIA HERE]? While it won’t cover everything, this article will help you have realistic expectations of magick to answer some of these questions yourself...

CoincidenceThe VAST majority of intentional magick is “coincidence adjustment.” I perform a spell to get more money and next week I get a large contract with a new client.

Part of the nature of these spells is that it is hard to prove cause and effect. This is why we can’t really tell people around us “I cast a spell for X and received it, thus it worked.” It is up to you to create clear goals, perform a spell, accomplish reasonable work to accept it and then measure your results.

As these spells affect coincidence, it is easier when there is a clear path for your goal to enter your life. Clearly it should be VERY impressive when you receive a long shot, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that long shots will seem more obviously magickal. They too will seem “coincidental.” Of course a REALLY AMAZING coincidence is more obvious than a minor coincidence.

One of the rules of Magick is to release your spell after casting it. In Reno Magick we actually have the warders remind people as they exit the circle, “This spell is finished, go on your way and think of it no more.” This does two things:

It draws a line in the sand. Your goal is defined. Quit adjusting it.

If you accept that the spell is doing its job you stop potentially interfering with your spell by worrying about it.

Amazing Magick of the MomentOther kinds of magickal experiences are the freaky stuff that you have a hard time believing after the fact. This is the Angel grabbing you out of the Riptide, Surviving getting hit by a bus, Lights Flickering and House Shaking during a Banishment kind of magick. Most of us got into magick for these moments.

Unfortunately, it is HARD to hold onto them. As I covered in the Beginners Magick Series Introduction, we tend to forget our magickal experiences. Most practitioners will have a couple that they can pull out and remember. In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons to keep a Magickal Journal, so that you can look back and remember.

Additionally, after you’ve had a few of them, you start realizing that many of the AMAZING and memorable Magicks occur in life and death situations and you start asking yourself, “Am I really willing to seek out these situations to experience the magick?”

In order to have consistent effects, you must completely believe in your spells. Ironically, a weird side effect of this is that they start to seem normal. I have moments when I suddenly realize that a habitual action/consequence is actually magick and something to be celebrated!

Special EffectsI’m sorry to tell you, but aside from what I just described, special effects are VERY UNCOMMON. Example Special Effects in 12 yearsof experience:

After dealing with hundreds of spirit, I think I’ve had the suddenly-so-cold-you-can-see-your-breath once.

I’ve NEVER seen a spirit for more than a second with my two eyes. While my mind converts my perception into visual, they are mostly a feeling or a knowing that I interact with and feel emotions and thoughts from. I don’t HEAR spirits, I telepathically get responses.

I’ve only used pyrokinesis to impressively start a fire ONCE (and sadly the one witness and I have parted ways).

I’ve had a couple cool TK experiences (stopping a car going over 45 on dime without squealing tires, tossing a pan across the room in a pique of anger, bending a mis-thrown knife back toward its target)

I’m sure I have more if I think about it, but still… this will help you get an understanding of how rare they are. Most of my “Special Effects” are to my third eye.

Seeing a dark spirit on a woman’s back dig in before she suddenly has a huge urge to smoke.

Seeing a bright red shield around that person’s house.

Watching a driver’s aura flare to the left before he jerks the wheel without signaling.

Seeing an energy blockage in a person’s leg that indicates a problem they would feel in their Hip. Clearing the blockage makes the pain go away.

These are VERY common for me (Average 2-3 impressive looking visuals/day) and they help me perceive the world magickally. I’ve had enough proof that my 3rd eye visuals/sounds/feelings/smells are giving good information that I trust them, but early on it is easy to feel that you’re just imagining things.

Unless something is REALLY obvious or I’ve just cleansed/meditated, I have to consciously “open my 3rd eye” to see these things. While it has become habit to open my 3rd eye when I drive or am exploring in public/nature, I do tend to let it close at other times. Usually I open my 3rd eye when something impressive grabs my attention. I’ll detail 3rd eye work in an upcoming article.

Clearly I haven’t covered everything. Magick is a BIG subject and everyone will experience things differently; however, this should help you realize what Real Magick is often like verses the ideas we receive from our culture.